Status of Pollinators in North America (2007) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Monitoring Pollinator Populations and Services
5 Monitoring Pollinator Populations and Services
Pages 131-154
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 131... ...
However, all extant programs need to be improved and an overarching framework will be useful for establishing cost-effective and feasible monitoring programs for a broader range of commercial and wild pollinators and pollination services in North America. REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT MONITORING PROGRAMS Commercial Honey Bee Colonies The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
|
From page 132... ...
The most recent 2002 census (USDA-NASS, 2004a) counted all bee colonies, and counted them only "in the county where the owner of the colonies largest value of agricultural products was raised or produced" (USDA-NASS, 2004a, Appendix A, p.
|
From page 133... ...
(in preparation) have analyzed 8-year-long patterns of abundance in bumble bees in Manitoba, and noted changes by orders of magnitude from one year to the next.
|
From page 134... ...
Butterflies As with bees, many of the longest and most comprehensive monitoring programs for butterflies are conducted outside the United States, either in the New World tropics (for example, the 35-year program in the Atlantic Forest region, Brown and Freitas, 2000) or the 30-year Butterfly Monitoring Scheme in the United Kingdom (Roy et al., 2001)
|
From page 135... ...
Across the 13-year period, numbers of monarchs counted per season varied 35-fold. In general, years of above-average abundance tend to be followed immediately by years of below-average abundance, a pattern that, again, emphasizes the value of multiyear long-term monitoring in order to avoid drawing inappropriate conclusions about pollinator status.
|
From page 136... ...
measure the economic and biodiversity risks associated with the loss of pollination services in agricultural and natural habitats; (3) determine the relative importance of drivers of pollinator loss; (4)
|
From page 137... ...
The ALARM project provides a model for a monitoring program that could be replicated in North America. North America contains many of the same biomes (tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous and coniferous forests, prairies or steppes, Mediterranean scrub)
|
From page 138... ...
. In addition to these large-scale, long-term monitoring programs, several individual investigators have carried out long-term monitoring of rufous (Selasphorus rufus)
|
From page 139... ...
Data on seasonal, spatial, and numerical fluctuations on hummingbirds and other flower-visiting birds could be collected across the three countries in North America. The United States can play a role in promoting collaborative efforts to monitor population trends, biological factors, and pollination services by those species under standardized protocols.
|
From page 140... ...
Data on annual colony losses and colony losses during the previous winter should also be collected. Questions for growers could include queries on whether pollination services were purchased during the previous seasons, the species involved (honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees)
|
From page 141... ...
provides an inspirational example of a pollinator monitoring program across many countries. In addition to assessing and monitoring pollinator populations and communities, monitoring pollination function over time is important.
|
From page 142... ...
. Because the impact of a decline in abundance or extinction of pollinator species on ecosystems is unknown, monitoring pollination function is as important as monitoring pollinator abundances.
|
From page 143... ...
Citizen-science monitoring programs are recent endeavors, and few have been subject to rigorous comparisons with professional monitoring. 5-1B new Figures 5-1 provide a flowchart illustrating the structure of each component of such an assessment and monitoring program.
|
From page 144... ...
. The results suggest that concerns about pollinator status are warranted.
|
From page 145... ...
MONITORING POLLINATOR POPULATIONS AND SERVICES TABLE 5-1 Examples of Areas Appropriate for Repeat Survey of U.S. Pollinator Populations (Localities, Some of Which Have Been or Are Being Re-surveyed, Contain Substantial Collections of Bees and Other Flower-Loving Insects)
|
From page 146... ...
Monitoring Pollinator Communities and Pollination Function A useful monitoring program must employ standardized, tested, repeatable methodology applied with sufficient spatial and temporal replication to ensure confidence and allow interpretation of time trends in the resulting data. Describing the many factors that must be taken into account in designing a monitoring program is beyond the scope of this report, but such factors are discussed by Elzinga et al.
|
From page 147... ...
TABLE 5-2 Examples of Modern Inventory Areas for Bee Pollinators (Corresponding Museum Data Could Be Captured for the Listed Localities to Compare Between Historical and Modern Records and Provide a Status Assessment) Collection Data Collection Standard Location State Period Digitized Records Species Ownera Method Time Interval Plot Notes San Rafael Desert UT 1979–1993 Yes 12,218 333 TG Net Death Valley National CA 1993–1995, Yes 7,065 270 TG Net, pan Biweekly Biweekly on Park 1999–2000 dunes Pinnacles National CA 1996–1999 Yes 25,196 398 OM, Net, pan Biweekly Trail segments Monument TG systematically sampled Clark County NV 1998, Yes 67,617 598 TG Net, pan Identifications 2004–2005 not complete Grand Staircase- UT 2000–2003, Yes 99,156 647 OM, Net X Biweekly X Identifications Escalante National 2005 TG not completed Monument for 2005 Dugway Proving UT 2003–2004 Yes 6,783 223 TG Net, pan X Biweekly X Identifications Grounds not completed for 2005 Yosemite National Park CA 2004–2006 Yes 23,021 TG Net, pan X Biweekly X Identifications not complete Avalon Plantation FL 1999–2000 Yes 3,000 125 SB Net, pan Monthly Yuma Proving Ground AZ 2001–2002 Yes 5,000 >200 SB, U.S.
|
From page 148... ...
is necessary to optimize the utility of the resulting data. An important added advantage to including citizen-scientists is that it builds appreciation and understand TABLE 5-3 Pollinator Long-Term Monitoring Program: Comparison of Professional and Citizen-Scientist Monitoring Programs Professional Citizen-Scientist Number of sites 50–100 Many Type of sites Gradients of disturbance and sites Many, of interest to citizens shared with citizen-scientist program Taxonomic High: genus and species Low: operational taxonomic units resolution such as bumble bee, sweat bee, flower fly Temporal High: monthly, biweekly, or daily Low: often annual resolution Pollinator Species richness, relative Counts of operational taxonomic status abundance, identity (specimens)
|
From page 149... ...
to obtain targeted data for a small number of sites with the goal of calibrating the data from the citizen-scientist programs to make the data from those programs more useful. To assess the influence of land use change on pollinator communities, the professional scientist monitoring program could also monitor sites across an existing land use gradient, from relatively pristine natural habitats to extensively anthropogenically altered habitats.
|
From page 150... ...
. Data can be collected at a relatively coarse temporal and taxonomic resolution, with the goal of long-term annual monitoring of common species and easily recognizable guilds (for example, bumble bees, carpenter bees, and flower flies)
|
From page 151... ...
. Many excellent examples of existing citizen-scientist monitoring programs provide models (for example, Frogwatch, Monarch Watch, Tucson Bird Count, Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, http://www.bfly.org/, Canada's Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, and others)
|
From page 152... ...
Thus, monitoring programs relying on visual observation will necessarily be conducted at a coarse taxonomic resolution, except in rare cases involving extremely familiar and exceptionally recognizable species such as Apis mellifera or Danaus plexippus. Such resolution may be appropriate with a minimum level of training for a citizen-scientist monitoring program for pollinators.
|
From page 153... ...
may provide a direct indicator of pollinator availability or pollinator service to agaves. CONCLUSIONS Current monitoring systems for commercial pollinators, chiefly Apis mellifera, exist, but these fail to report or capture all of the necessary data to monitor pollinator status and function.
|
From page 154... ...
A monitoring program could be developed for long-term assessment of pollinator status and function using both professional and citizen-science elements. To address the enormous spatial and temporal variability in pollinator populations as well as the taxonomic impediment, calibration systems could be developed to determine the degree of correspondence between data collected by professional scientists at a fine taxonomic resolution, and data collected by citizen-scientists at a coarser resolution.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.